Cut Off
by pinkcat4569
Summary: Becker and his men encounter a new creature the EMDs have no affect on.  Then it gets worse, they're trapped.  Can the rest of the team save them?
1. Chapter 1

Cut Off

by Pinkcat4569

Rating: T for language, violence

Spoilers: some for season 5

Description: Becker and his men are cut off from the team, from the rest of the world really. Can they be saved?

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or the characters. This is for fun.

Author' Note: I love my OC soldiers, especially Carly, the weapons expert. I decided to write a fic about them.

By the way, this isn't as light-hearted as usual. I think its kind of tense.

Cut Off

The team pulled up alongside a city market and it was apparent that there was an incursion. Hump-less camels were running every where. People in the street were laughing as the animals zipped by.

"They're so fast!" said Abby. "Look how they change direction, while they're running. Amazing!"

"I think they're Macrauchenias, 'long llamas,' but they're not really llamas at all or camels."

"There are dozens of them," said Becker.

Matt smiled. "Let's get herding."

"I've got police clearing the market, and I put out a bulletin of a spill in your location, so you shouldn't have humans to herd too," said Jess.

Becker smiled. "It's she brilliant?" he asked to no one in particular. He heard her giggle over the comms.

They kept the anomaly open. The plan was to force the animals toward it and through. There were just so many of the zippy, nimble creatures.

"Watch it! A bunch are coming your way Becker!" cried Matt. "Connor, Abby! Drive that bunch there through the anomaly. We'll divide them all up and push them through in shifts. Becker, keep the others from wandering!"

Becker's men set up a perimeter, firing the EMDs not at the animals, but scaring them so that they stayed in the general area until they were driven through.

"There's so many of them," said Vale, third in command, after Becker and Lieutenant Flowers.

"Just pretend they're women, Vale," suggested Corporal Morton. Vale had a reputation with the ladies.

"At least they aren't biting or clawing," yelled Thompson back, waving his hands as a 'llama' neared.

"Wouldn't mind that, if they were women," said Vale, chuckling.

They'd gotten all but about twenty through when Jess was alerted to another anomally.

"It's not far away, only four blocks. No report yet on any creatures," said Jess.

"Another anomaly? Does that mean we're going to be plagued with them again?" asked Abby.

"No other reports, Abby, and the other anomaly reading doesn't seem as strong as the one you're at," said Jess.

"The information we had in the future was that convergence would sort itself out. I think its sorting. We'll probably experience more anomalies for a while, and maybe some weird one," said Matt.

"I'm pulling up CCTV. I've got a panic in front of the community center. It looks like people are running from something..." said Jess, then she gasped. "Terror Birds."

"That's the same time period as these Macrauchenia," said Connor. "It's two separate anomalies, Jess?"

"They alerted separately, but the Terror Birds anomaly is weaker. You guys better hurry. There don't appear to be casualties, yet."

"We'll go," said Matt. "You and your men finish here."

"Right," said Becker. "Take Flowers and three men with you. Terror Birds are tougher then these guys."

Matt nodded, motioning to Flowers, who nodded back and signaled to three men, Then they all followed after Matt.

He turned to the remaining five men and said, "Right, let's mop this up."

Vale took point, which this time meant whooping and yelling like a nut, scaring the llamas towards Thompson and Becker. The three of them turned the animals towards the anomaly. Mills and Morton ran along the sides, firing EMDs occasionally, to keep them from escaping. Finally the animals ran toward the anomaly where Culp ushered the 'llamas' through.

The men laughed as Becker shut the anomaly.

"Finally!" yelled Vale. "An easy one."

Becker smiled.

"Who's buying the drinks?" asked Corporal Morton.

Becker got on the comm. "Jess, the llama things are through, and the anomaly is closed."

"Excellent work, cowboy."

Becker chuckled. "I think Vale found his calling," he said smirking at the second lieutenant.

"I'd look great in chaps," said Vale, making Jess giggle on the other end.

"How's the rest of the team?" asked Becker.

"The terror birds are proving less compliant than the llamas, I'm afraid," said Jess. "The good news is no one's been hurt so far."

"OK, we're on the way over to help," said Becker.

"I'll alert Matt you're on the way."

"Thanks, Jess," he said and turned to his men. "Drinks have to wait." He grinned. "And you're buying Morton."

The others laughed. They took a few steps when there was a sound behind them, and they turned in time to catch the anomaly fade.

"Wow, that was fast," said Culp.

There was a slight tremor and at the same time, a few sparkling lights, like an anomaly was trying to form.

"Jess..."

"I see the readings, but they're so weak. Becker, no alert is being triggered," she said, then as soon as the words were out of her mouth the alert, went off.

At the same time, a huge burst of light stunned the soldiers.

"What the hell!" yelled Becker, trying to get the sudden blindness out of his eyes. A few blinks, and he could see, though not good. "Jess, we have an anomaly, and it's huge."

"I know," she said.

End of Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

I tried creating an OC future creature, and is it hard! Let me know how I did. You might want to read all the chapters first before you 'grade' me.

Chapter Two

Becker heard and felt a rumble. He looked up and saw two gigantic gray creatures, sort of like giant roly-polys charging through the anomaly. They were big as cars. One slammed into a bunch of market booths, splintering them in pieces. The destruction didn't slow it down, as it barreled in alarm in the other direction. It was amazingly fast for its bulk and size.

The other creature also caused destruction, slamming into more booths. It too seemed alarmed and frenzied. Wherever they ran they caused wreckage.

Becker and his men had to dodge the hurricane of debris. Anything hit by the creatures shattered into pieces. The creatures seemed to have armor that was incredibly thick.

Jess sat in horror, watching the soldiers run and dodge for their lives. The only camera feed was mounted on a storage building not far away. The camera feed shook as the creature's rampaged.

"Becker?"

Jess was panicked, but didn't know how to help. Instead, she updated the fake bulletins to keep people from the area. She informed the police, fire, and rescue of an 'ongoing, dangerous situation, stand by.' There was nothing else she could do.

Matt and the team were chasing Terror Birds, and she chose not to inform them for the moment. She thought about sending backup, but there was so much destruction, she didn't think they'd get through.

She needed help. "Lester, get to the ADD, now."

Alarmed by her tone, Lester hurried to her side.

"What is it Jess...what the hell are those?"

"Don't know. Becker and his men are running for their lives. Matt's at another incursion. Should I send back up?"

Lester took it all in: the horror on Jess' screen, the screaming in his ears.

"Not yet."

Jess nodded.

Thanks to Jess, only Becker and his men were still in the market.

The market had permanent booths and stalls. When the creatures tore through, the debris was tremendous and deadly: heavy, thick, boards hurling through the air; roofs made of wood and roofing material which plummeted to the earth; all kinds of products for sale that became lethal missiles; even appliances and heavy equipment like generators were tossed. It was a disaster area and the soldiers had no clear path.

"I can't even guide them," said Jess in desperation. "It's like a storm of tornadoes."

"Over here!" called Morton.

He stood in front of the nearest building, the two-story, brick storage house that had the CCTV Jess and Lester watched. Becker and Thompson made a run for it, hoping to find shelter. They were both firing their EMDs and hit the creatures several times, but there was no effect.

"Why aren't they going down?" asked Lester.

There was a scream behind him and Becker got a flash of black before Culp was trampled.

Becker heard Jess scream in his ear. She was watching...

He pushed thoughts of Jess out of his mind. He had no time. He ran toward Culp but even from a distance he could see it was no use. Culp was dead.

Thompson and Morton fired repeatedly at the one that killed Culp, but Becker had lost track of the other one, and of Mills and Vale.

Becker heard another rumble, and another creature-tank ran through. Becker tried to assess the situation.

One creature was held at bay by Thompson and Morton by the building.

In the center of the market was the second creature, digging into the rubbish with small fat feet and large claws.

Still no sign of Vale or Mills.

"Sir!" shouted Morton. Becker saw Morton pointing.

The third creature was digging into debris at the back of the market. Beside the creature, was another crumpled, black-clad body. Becker couldn't identify it as Mills or Vale.

Becker heard Jess gasp. She had been talking to him, asking questions throughout the ordeal, but in the desperation of the moment he ignored her. He couldn't ignore her screams and gasps.

The three creatures seemed quiet, but the third one was sniffing the air in a way Becker didn't like. Finally it found the body, and began scavenging it.

Becker heard Thompson gag, and he himself felt sick. The creatures weren't aggressive right now. They all seemed preoccupied with scavenging.

Lester held Jess. She had turned and ran to his arms when the creature turned on the body. She sobbed quietly. Becker tried to push the sound out of his mind.

He focused: guns were ineffective, two men were dead, and one missing.

Then Becker heard a noise, and saw Vale push out from one of the crumpled piles of booth debris, not far from the second creature.

Becker quietly moved toward him, hoping the creature didn't go for them. Thompson and Morton kept an uneasy eye on number two, as the captain pulled Vale up, and dragged him toward the building.

In his mind, Becker knew the building wasn't ideal. He wanted to get the hell away, but he had wounded now, and couldn't see the 4x4s through all the damage.

Then there was the matter of three unsecured living tanks in the heart of the city.

"Jess, I need Lester on the comm."

His voice sounded ragged, tired, and ultra-calm. It scared Jess.

"I'm here, Captain. I've been watching. How can we help?"

Becker didn't have a chance to answer.

Lester and Jess watched with horror as the second creature finally noticed the humans and approached the building.

"Get back!" yelled Morton.

"Don't waste time firing!" screamed Becker. "Get inside!"

Jess trembled in Lester's arms.

"The other one's coming now!"

"Inside, inside!" screamed Becker.

Jess and Lester saw the men go in the building, and Becker close the door. Then the two creatures rammed the building repeatedly.

Jess gasped. Then the third creature joined, and all of them repeatedly hit the building with an unbelievable amount of force.

Loud, high-pitched squealing mixed with growling, filled the comms, and then a tremendous, deafening crash. At the same time, the camera feed went dead.

Jess screamed. "Becker!" she cried.

"Becker, do you read?" asked Lester sitting Jess in her chair, and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Becker, do your read?"

End of Chapter Two


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Finally after a few minutes, Jess and Lester both heard coughing over the comms.

Relief poured over them both, and Jess sighed deeply.

"Becker, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes," came the reply.

Jess giggled with relief, and Lester patted her shoulder.

"What's your status?" asked Lester.

"Not sure. Give me a moment," said Becker.

They heard more coughing, and Becker asking the others if they were OK. Then they heard some movement, boards shifting, groaning, and then a scream in pain.

"Becker?" asked Jess.

"I'm fine Jess. Vale's hurt. Lester, we're trapped. A building collapsed on us. Those three tanks brought down the damn building!"

There was a pause, and Becker resumed his calm, informative tone, "We're stuck, no way out. We can hear the creatures digging. We know they'll...eat humans. Mills is dead, so is Culp. The guns don't work on them. They've got heavy armor. They're big...as cars..."

Becker stopped as he coughed fiercely. Jess traded a worried look with Jess.

"Captain, I expect an honest answer, are you hurt?" asked Lester.

Becker laughed weakly. "It's a tornado of dust down here. I'm banged up, but not hurt. Vale is bleeding, I think internally. One leg is broken and I think he may have broken ribs. He's bad, Lester. Thompson and Morton seem OK. I'm surprised we're still here. We're in a space somehow. I don't know why we're not crushed."

Lester nodded. "I see. You said the EMDs don't work?"

"They bounce right off the armor. It's thick, Lester, I don't know that anything will work."

"First time I've heard you doubt your beloved firearms, Captain," said Lester.

Becker chuckled. "Temporary insanity, I guess."

"Right," said Lester. "Jess, send units to lock the anomaly, and units to contain the creatures."

"Lester, that's a bad idea. The things are fast despite being tanks. You're just sending more bodies for them to crush."

"I'll warn the teams of that, but we have no choice. We can't have more 'tanks' roaming the streets. We'll get you out as soon as possible Captain."

"Captain," said Morton. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah," said Becker. "What is it?"

They sat silently for a moment. "Oh, God."

"What? What is it?" asked Lester.

"The creatures are digging to us," said Becker.

Jess nearly screamed. Instead, she summoned all her courage.

"Hold on Becker," she said sweetly, it took all her strength. "You heard the boss. We'll get you out."

"I know Jess."

Jess took the comm out for a second to scream inaudibly. Then she put the comm right back in, taking a deep breath, and focusing on the men's survival.

Lester patted her head and picked up the nearest phone.

"Sergeant Carlson, it's Lester. Listen carefully. EMDs aren't working. We have three creatures that look like heavily armored tanks. We need to take them down."

Jess piped in. "Carly, pick up your mobile. I've sent footage of the creatures to you."

Lester waited impatiently as Carlson watched the video.

"Holy Smith and Wesson! That armor is bone, solid bone! It has to be a few feet thick! We don't have anything designed to go through that much bone. An assault weapon wouldn't even work, unless you kept firing until a hole was formed."

"Becker and his men are trapped, and these things are digging to them. I can't send teams to take out the creatures with a gun that won't work."

"Yes sir. Holy glock, sir. On it sir. No idea yet sir. Carlson out."

Lester stared at the phone. "Carlson out?' He doesn't get to say out. I say out."

Then he turned his attention back to the buried men. "Becker what's your status?"

Lester waited. "Becker?"

Jess looked at Lester, and began to feel knots in her stomach.

Finally, there was a reply.

"Uh, Thompson here... Becker's,...oh man," said Thompson. The soldier's voice was scared and on the verge of panic. "Vale is...come on, Vale, don't..." he whimpered.

Jess looked alarmed.

"Private, what is happening?" asked Lester.

"Vale's...he's not breathing. The Cap's doing CPR..."

Jess teared up.

"I see. Keep calm, Private. The captain is taking care of Vale. I'm sorry, but I need you to focus. Now, where are the creatures?"

"We can still hear them sir. They're getting closer. There is digging on one side, and then more digging sounds about, I'd guess, ten feet away, on the other side. There are only two digging sounds, so either two creatures are digging together, or one isn't digging at all."

"Alright. Is the Captain still doing CPR on the lieutenant?"

"Yes sir, he is...Yes!" cried Thompson in their ears. "Sorry. Vale's breathing, and Cap's got a heart beat!"

Jess and Lester both sighed in relief, and over the comms they could hear relieved chuckling.

Then, Thompson came back on. "Sir, we could sure use some help soon."

"I know, Private. Rest assured we're working on it. Carlson will find something to defeat the creatures."

"We know, sir. Thank you."

"Hold on Private, and tell the captain that was excellent work indeed," said Lester.

Thompson chuckled. "Yes, sir. It was sir."

"Thompson, how is Vale now?" asked Jess.

"Not good, but still alive, thanks to the Cap."

Jess smiled. "Tell him he's brilliant for me, would you?"

"Yes ma'am. He heard, and he's smiling."

"Hold on, all of you, just hold on," said Jess barely above a whisper.

"We will, Jess," said an exhausted, spent voice that she barely recognized as Becker.

End of Chapter Three


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Finally, units arrived at the market, but it was no longer there. It was a massive field of debris. Police were on hand to keep on-lookers back, but there weren't many, thanks to Jess' spill story.

The news media was a problem, they would brave dangers for a story, so Lester resulted to threats. Baffling to their reporters, to be sure, but all the news agencies called their reporters back.

Lester grimaced. He didn't want to deal with the media. He had more important problems: saving four men. Hopefully there were still four to save.

"Captain, how is Vale?" he asked.

"Holding steady. He's bleeding. We can't stop it. There's no water or light. We're blind and helpless."

"We'll hold out though," said Morton.

"You bet," said Thompson.

Becker chuckled. "You heard my men, Lester. We're waiting, come and get us."

Lester smiled. "Right away. Matt's on his way now, so is Carlson. He has an idea. Becker, do you think the wreckage could withstand an explosion?"

There was a pause. Jess was frantic. She had heard the idea Carlson had quickly put to Lester, and she hated it.

"Do what you have to do, sir," came Becker's reply.

"The creatures are heavily fortified with layers of bone. Nothing will pierce it in Carly's opinion," said Lester. Jess noted his use of Carlson's nickname.

"So," said Becker. "He wants to blow them up."

"May be the only way. Carly wants to rig a small, controlled charge right by the beasts, confining the blast to the damaged area. Unfortunately that market was in the heart of the city. We have to take great care."

"Understood, sir. If Carly thinks its the only way, then it is. Do it," said Becker.

Jess closed her eyes, silently crying. Would the pile of debris be enough to protect them?

"Let us know sir," continued Becker. "We're gonna dig around ourselves. With luck there will be a cellar or something we can find."

"Wait," said Jess, sniffling and trying to calm her voice. "You can move. I mean, that's great, but a two story house fell on you."

Becker chuckled. "We have maybe five feet of space above us, hard to say how much, cause there's no light. Morton has a torch, and if we barely fire up an EMD we have a flash, but its still hard to see. We can move maybe ten feet each direction. Thompson did some scouting."

"There are what feel like concrete pillars in the corners, there seem to be piles of debris around us, but we're fairly clear. We fell into some sort of square hole, protected by these pillars," said Thompson.

"Why weren't you crushed?" asked Lester.

"Don't know, been kind of busy with Vale," said Becker. "Morton, shine your torch up."

Lester and Jess waited.

"I see," said Becker. "There's a large slab of concrete set on the pillars. By sheer luck it fell onto them, protecting us. It actually, looks fairly stable."

Lester sighed. 'Fairly stable,' did not fill him with confidence that the debris pile would withstand any more force, especially not an explosion.

"See if you can find a cellar, Becker. The forces on site are standing by, waiting for Matt and Carlson."

"The creatures are still digging," said Morton, "and not going for new troops. Weird."

"Yes," said Lester. "The reports from the field are that the creatures seem oblivious to them."

"They're focused on us," said Becker.

"Wouldn't unburied prey be easier?" asked Thompson.

"You'd think," said Becker.

Matt and the others, and Carlson arrived at the same time.

"Oh, my God," whispered Abby, at the sight of the utter destruction. See saw three barrel-like creatures digging in a gigantic pile of debris. "That's where Becker and the men are?"

"Yes," said Matt. "Let's get them out."

Beside him stood Lieutenant Flowers, and the rest of Becker's men.

"I feel helpless," said Flowers. Matt smiled slightly, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get them," said Matt softly.

"What are those creatures?" asked Connor, filming them. Then he sneaked closer.

"Careful!" called Emily.

"If we find out more about them," said Connor, "maybe we can figure out a weakness." He crawled closer, joined by Abby.

"They look kind of like giant armadillos," said Abby.

"Look at the armor," whispered Connor. "That's solid bone."

"Conn," whispered Abby, "see if you can close up on their underbellies and claws."

Connor zoomed in, and then Abby took the camera.

Looking at the pictures she said, "They look kind of like turtles on the underside, soft and vulnerable under the shell. See those claws, they're perfect for digging. The face sure looks like an armadillo, the tiny eyes, long snout, bunny ears."

"Why would such a large creature be a digger?"

Abby shook her head and shrugged. They rejoined the others and shared their findings.

"Becker said they scavenged food, maybe the digging helps," said Abby, watching with the others the video Connor shot. "Maybe they aren't an aggressive predator, but primarily a scavenger."

Matt said, "They remind me of a creature we had. It lived in tunnels we'd abandoned, or in caves. It dug and scavenged. It wasn't aggressive unless provoked, or hungry."

Abby said, " It looks like an armadillo. I wonder if its a future relative. It has the armor, the ears, the eyes, the snout. An armadillo doesn't have the best eyesight, but it has excellent hearing and smell."

"Good hearing?" asked Carlson.

Abby shrugged. "I don't know. It might have good hearing. I'm guessing."

Carlson looked excited. "Mr. Anderson, we could stun them with sound. Not hurt them, or risk the men."

Matt smiled. "I like it."

"Can you rig something sonic here?" asked Abby.

Carlson smiled. "No problem. Guns go boom, you know, and I always have a wide selection of guns and fire power with me. Always," he said and he retreated to his truck.

Connor smiled. "I'm going to help make the boom," he said, and ran after Carlson.

"OK, Becker, new plan. No actual explosion, well not the piercing, ripping and blowing apart kind," said Lester.

"What do you guys have in mind?" asked Becker.

Jess thought he sounded very tired and strained.

"A small, sonic-like boom."

"Really? You're going to fly a jet over us?"

"Good, Captain, you still have your wit, I see. No, actually, we're going to shoot fireworks at you. Carlson and Connor are fastening an explosive charge big enough to release enough energy to cause a loud enough bang to hurt the sensitive ears of the creatures. Blah, blah, blah. Hopefully, the creatures are sensitive to bangs, the explosion will work without killing anyone, and we won't cause the building to collapse on you."

"We'd appreciate that, sir," said Thompson.

"How is Vale?" asked Lester.

"Pale, but he's still with us," said Becker.

"Good. Won't be long now."

"Thanks," said Becker. "Is Jess still there?"

"Right here," she said. She was happier with the new plan, even though it was still a risk, and it showed through her voice. "You'll be out soon, and I'm going to hug you like crazy."

Becker chuckled. "I'll let you."

"Good," she said.

"OK," said Lester. "Carlson says he's ready. Are you?"

"Yes," said Becker. "We can't find any cellars, or anything to hide under that won't crush us, so go ahead."

"Right, good luck," said Lester, solemnly.

"Thanks," said Becker. He paused. "See you soon, Jess."

Jess fought back tears. "See you soon."

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

It might get muddled here, with the sonic boom part. Again, I know nothing about them, so I hope I don't confuse everyone.

Part 5

"How do we do this?" asked Abby. "The creatures haven't noticed us yet. Don't really want them to see us planting the bomb."

"It's not a real bomb," said Carlson. "I can make a real bomb."

"Seriously?" asked Matt. Carlson nodded.

"We're gonna fire it up in the air," said Connor.

"Yep, avoid the monsters all together," said Carlson.

He finished the casing on the 'bomb' and Connor finished the math for the trajectory.

"We want it right over them," said Connor.

Flowers paced impatiently. "You don't think this will harm the men?"

Carlson sighed, and Connor looked at Flowers. "We don't think so, Fred," said Connor, "but there is a risk."

Flowers smiled slightly. "There always is, Connor."

"Ready," said Carlson.

Everyone backed away, except Carlson and Connor. Carlson fit the bomb into the 'launchpad' that they rigged out of a pipe, and Connor held the lighter ready, waiting on the signal.

"We're lighting it now, Becker."

"Read you, Matt. Good luck."

Matt chuckled nervously. "You too, mate."

Matt nodded to Connor and Connor lit the fuse, then he and Carly ran away.

The fuse burned, then the rocket-like device ignited and the bomb was propelled into the air. It made a whoosh at liftoff, but Abby didn't notice any movement from the creatures. They kept digging.

As a precaution, all the humans wore ear protection, and the city blocks had been cleared for a half mile. They didn't really know how big the bang would be, they hoped it would be loud, but not ear-shattering.

A few seconds passed.

BOOM

The ground shook, the humans were jostled, and the creatures screamed. They ran in a panic, but the team and Flower's men were ready, and with the EMD fire, they easily corralled the panicked tanks into the anomaly, and through. Emily quickly locked the anomaly.

They had no time to celebrate.

"Becker do you read?" asked Matt.

Everyone waited tensely.

"We read, Matt. Nice pop you guys made, we barely heard it down here."

Everyone clapped and cheered.

"We're on our way," said Matt, with a huge smile.

Matt motioned the rescue teams into service, and the digging began quickly but carefully. They didn't want to use heavy machinery for fear of collapsing the protective bubble the men were in.

The workers moved the debris mostly by hand, sawing big chunks with electric saws. They made quick work of it. Soon they found one of the cement pillars.

Carefully they unburied the slab that had sheltered the men, and lifted it off. It took four men to do so.

Light suddenly shot at Becker, Morton, Thompson, and the unconscious Vale.

Becker heard Matt's very near voice, "I see them!"

Finally his eyes adjusted and Becker could see Matt, Flowers, and Connor.

"Hey," he said tiredly, and with a relieved chuckle. "You made it."

Matt scanned the debris, and decided to jump down to them.

"Yeah," he said, landing near Becker. He hugged him.

"Vale needs help."

"Coming up," said Matt, turning to usher the medics to jump down.

Soon, Vale was secured for travel, his wounds quickly bandaged and emergency IVs started. Carefully, he was lifted out. A helicopter had been dispatched and took Vale to the hospital immediately.

"He should be OK," said a medic to Flowers. "We got to him in time."

Flowers smiled, and told the others, who cheered. Becker, Thompson, and Morton, still in the hole, were especially relieved.

Thompson and Morton were helped up, hugged by their fellow soldiers and put in 4x4s to take them to hospital too.

Becker was the last one pulled out. Flowers hugged him, then left to follow the men to the hospital and oversee things there. Abby and Emily jumped into Becker's arms.

Becker saw Connor and Carlson. "Thank you. You saved us," he said simply.

Carlson saluted. Connor patted Becker's back. Matt started to pull Becker to their 4x4 to drive him to the hospital, but Becker resisted. He stood and stared.

He noticed a figure in a red skirt and yellow top running across to him.

Jess.

He pulled free from Matt, and despite his ordeal, and his pain and fatigue, he ran to her.

Jess ran until Becker caught her up in his arms.

"Thank God," she said through tears. "Oh, thank God," she mumbled.

Becker laughed weakly. "Jess," he whispered.

Lester strolled up behind them and smiled.

"You look well," he said.

Becker smiled and nodded, but he hung onto Jess.

"Maybe you should get checked out," suggested Lester.

Matt walked up, chuckling. "We were heading that way when Miss Parker distracted the Captain."

Lester laughed. He cleared his throat. "Miss Parker, would you please see that the Captain seeks medical attention, immediately."

Jess eased out of Becker's arms reluctantly. "Of course, sir. Right away."

She smiled at Becker, and took his arm, leading him to one of the vehicles.

Lester and Matt talked about cleaning up the mess left behind, but as the vehicle drove away they both noticed the figures in the back seat, kissing.

The End

Author's Note: I just can't help it. Jess and Becker always have to kiss. Sorry. No, I'm not. :)


End file.
